Sports
‘C’ Club Hall of Fame to welcome 2025 induction class
Story Links Carleton ‘C’ Club Website NORTHFIELD, Minn. – In conjunction with Carleton College’s Alumni Reunion Weekend activities, six individuals will become the newest members of the ‘C’ Club Hall of Fame. The 50th annual induction ceremony will take place at 12:00 p.m. on […]

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – In conjunction with Carleton College’s Alumni Reunion Weekend activities, six individuals will become the newest members of the ‘C’ Club Hall of Fame. The 50th annual induction ceremony will take place at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 21 in the Weitz Center for Creativity’s Larson Family Meeting Room (room 236).
The 2025 induction class includes All-America tennis player John Flygare ’85, football star Todd Kuss ’85, All-America decathlete Steve Burch ’90, two-sport standout Allison Keeley ’90, All-America swimmer Kelly (Hoeschen) Anderson ’00, and basketball star Kyle Beste ’05.
The ‘C’ Club was established in 1976 at which time 19 Carleton legends were inducted either as coaches or as athletes. With this year’s additions, 200 individuals and three entire teams have now been selected for the ‘C’ Club Hall of Fame.
John Flygare ’85 • Men’s Tennis
John Flygare was a two-time All-American in doubles, a four-time individual conference champion, and a starter for two conference team championships.
As a freshman, he was a starter for 1982 Midwest Conference (MWC) team champions. During the conference tournament, he was the MWC champ at No. 6 singles and teamed with Dan Saltzstein to capture the No. 3 doubles crown after rallying from a set down to win 6-7, 7-6, 7-5.
The following year, Flygare helped Carleton again claim the Midwest Conference team title. This time, he was the conference champ at No. 4 singles and joined with Rob Fuerst to form the champion No. 1 doubles pairing that won all three matches in straight sets.
Carleton transitioned from the Midwest Conference to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in time for the 1984 campaign, and Flygare continued to find success on the court.
As a junior, he set a then-Carleton men’s team record by winning 22 singles matches and paired with David Treichel ’87 to form a top-20 nationally ranked doubles team. They were invited to play at the 1984 NCAA Championships and became the first tandem in school history to earn All-America status. The duo captured another All-America honor again in 1985, becoming the first two players in program history to collect multiple All-America awards.
Capping his senior season, Flygare helped Carleton finish sixth in the team competition at the 1985 Division III NCAA Championships, the program’s best-ever showing at Nationals.
Todd Kuss ’85 • Football
A four-year starter at linebacker, Todd Kuss collected a pair of All-Conference awards as well as twice earning All-Conference Honorable Mention. He played during the era that saw Carleton switch from the Midwest Conference to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and found success in both leagues. Bob Sullivan, who served as Carleton’s head coach from 1979 to 2000, described Kuss as “the best linebacker I ever coached.”
Kuss stepped right into the Carleton lineup as a rookie and had four interceptions for a 1981 squad that posted a 7-2 record and a 6-2 ledger in conference games. That helped him garner All-Midwest Conference Honorable Mention. In 1982, he led the Knights’ defense in tackles as Carleton went 6-2 overall and 4-1 in division play in what would be the team’s final season in the Midwest Conference. Kuss was selected to the All-MWC squad.
As Carleton transitioned to the MIAC in 1983, he had little trouble facing the tougher level of competition and was one of six linebackers voted by conference coaches to the All-MIAC squad. The team MVP that fall, Kuss collected a team-high 135 tackles, a figure that still ranks third best in recorded program history, along with three interceptions.
He owns two of the top six single-game tackle totals in program annals. His 23 stops during the 1983 game against Macalester are tied for most in recorded team history, and he collected 21 tackles at Gustavus Adolphus three weeks later. Kuss received MIAC Defensive Player of the Week recognition after totaling 13 tackles, two interceptions, a fumble recovery, and a sack at Augsburg in the final road game of the season.
A team captain in 1984, he received All-MIAC Honorable Mention even though he was injured for a portion of the season. He totaled 97 tackles in only six games, an impressive average of 16.2 stops per game. At season’s end, he received the team’s Lippert Award, which is given to the player who contributes the most to the Carleton football team.
Steve Burch ’90 • Men’s Track & Field
Demonstrating his all-around athletic ability, Steve Burch was a four-year letter winner in track & field and twice earned All-America status in the decathlon as he finished eighth at the 1989 NCAA Championships and sixth a year later.
He earned All-MIAC recognition three times for indoor track & field: in the 55-meter dash in 1988 and the long jump in both 1989 and 1990. However, Burch truly shined during the outdoor season, where he earned All-MIAC recognition in the decathlon by finishing third at the 1988 MIAC Championships as a sophomore.
The following spring brought his first conference title, winning the MIAC decathlon with 6,317 points. That year, he also earned All-MIAC honorable mention for the long jump (fifth place, 6.51 meters) and as part of the third-place 4×400-meter relay that broke what was then a Carleton record with a time of 3:18.64. He also qualified for the finals in the 110-meter hurdles and finished eighth. The 1989 season concluded with Burch’s debut at the NCAA Championships where he placed eighth in the decathlon with 6,296 points.
A team captain as a senior, Burch once again collected All-MIAC status for the decathlon in 1989, this time finishing in third place. He advanced to Nationals and made the most of the opportunity, placing sixth overall with 6,390 points. That point total ranked him third in program history at the time, and he still ranks fourth in team annals.
Burch was also part of Carleton’s 4×100-meter relay that finished 10th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Burch continued his family’s legacy of athletic success at Carleton, as he is the son of Carole Pushing Burch ’61, the first woman elected (in 1989) to the ‘C’ Club Hall of Fame.
Allison Keeley ’90 • Women’s Track & Field, Volleyball
After starring for Carleton’s volleyball and track & field programs, Allison Keeley became an accomplished collegiate coach. She is one of two players in Carleton volleyball history with at least 1,000 assists and 1,000 digs over her career. Keeley collected 11 total All-MIAC or All-Conference Honorable Mention awards for track & field before completing her Carleton career with an 11th-place result in the heptathlon at the 1990 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Keeley finished with 1,497 career assists and 1,370 career digs, totals that ranked second and third, respectively, in recorded school history when she graduated and still rank inside the program’s top ten. As an All-MIAC setter as a senior in 1989, she accumulated 789 assists, the school’s third-highest single-season figure at the time. She also excelled in the service game and still ranks second in program history with 81 aces in 1989 and 227 aces overall.
In track & field, Keeley set five new Carleton records: the indoor 300-meter dash and 55-meter hurdles and the outdoor 100-meter hurdles, javelin, and heptathlon.
She earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention in four indoor events as a senior, racing on third-place entries for the sprint medley relay and 4×400 relay, in addition to taking fourth in the pentathlon and sixth in the 55-meter hurdles.
Keeley earned her first All-Conference Honorable Mention for outdoor track & field by finishing fifth in the heptathlon as a rookie at the 1987 MIAC Championships. She was sixth in the event as a junior and second with 4,200 points as a senior. Keeley was also All-MIAC in 1990 for the javelin (second place at 35.26 meters) and long jump (third place at 5.04 meters). She raced on two All-Conference Honorable Mention relays that spring, helping the Knights take second in the 4×400-meter relay (setting a new Carleton record of 4:01.33) and third in the 4×100-meter relay.
Keeley left Carleton as the school record holder in the javelin at 35.59 meters, a distance that still ranks 10th in program history.
She capped off her career by finishing 11th in the heptathlon at Nationals. She scored 4,326 points, the second-highest total in school history at the time and a figure that still ranks sixth in program annals.
After graduation, Keeley competed with USA Volleyball’s Women’s Open Beach and Women’s Open Indoor teams. She returned to Carleton to assist the women’s track & field teams in 1991, helping Jennifer Streefland take second in the heptathlon at the 1991 NCAA Championships. Keeley was an assistant coach for Carleton volleyball in 1995, launching a collegiate coaching career that has lasted 30 years and included stops at three NCAA Division I programs. At UNLV, she was Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year in 2007 and departed as the winningest coach in program history. She is now the head coach at Kutztown University (NCAA Division II).
Kelly (Hoeschen) Anderson ’00 • Women’s Swimming & Diving
The accolades for Kelly (Hoeschen) Anderson’s time in the pool included an All-American award, two trips to the NCAA Championships, three MIAC individual crowns, 12 additional all-conference performances, and leading Carleton to the 2000 MIAC championship, the first team title in program history.
She burst onto the scene as a rookie and won both the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke at nearly every dual meet during the 1996-97 season. That was a preview of what was to come as she won her first two conference titles that season, capturing the top spot on the podium at the MIAC Championships for both the 100-yard breaststroke (1:08.54) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:26.46). She also raced on the 400-yard medley relay that placed third and collected All-Conference recognition.
The season concluded with Anderson’s first trip to the NCAA Championships, where she earned All-America status with a seventh-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:25.13). She also finished 25th in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:09.32) and 45th in the 200-yard IM (2:21.66). Her 200-yard breaststroke time at Nationals broke the Carleton record and stood for ten more years; she now ranks fourth in program history.
She repeated as MIAC champion in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:27.28) at the 1998 conference meet and collected All-MIAC recognition after swimming on third-place entries in the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard medley relay, the latter of which established a new Carleton record of 4:08.29. Anderson was also All-Conference Honorable Mention after finishing fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke. She once again qualified for the NCAA Championships and finished 21st overall in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:29.38) and 23rd overall in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:08.82).
Her junior campaign saw two more All-MIAC performances as Carleton finished second in the 200-yard medley relay and third in the 400-yard medley relay. She added All-Conference Honorable Mention twice, by finishing fourth in both the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke at MIAC Championships.
As a senior, Anderson captained the Knights to their first conference team title. She again swam to All-MIAC status as part of the 400-yard medley relay that finished second at the conference meet and the 200-yard medley that placed third. She also received All-Conference Honorable Mention twice, after finishing fourth in both the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke races at the MIAC Championships. At the conclusion of the season, she received the program’s “Special Team” award, voted on by her peers and given annually to the team member who best exemplified the spirit of the team.
Kyle Beste ’05 • Men’s Basketball
Kyle Beste is one of the top two-way players in Carleton men’s basketball history, as he is one of only four players in program annals to tally at least 1,000 points, 100 steals, and 50 blocks during his career. At the time of his graduation, Beste ranked third in Carleton history with 1,445 points, fifth with 124 steals, and sixth with 50 blocked shots.
Beste was voted to the All-MIAC First Team for both the 2002-03 and 2004-05 campaigns. He did not miss a game during his four seasons, with his steady play also earning him a MIAC All-First Year team nod in 2001-02, All-MIAC Honorable Mention in 2003-04, and a spot on the MIAC All-Defense squad for 2004-05.
The Knights reached the MIAC Playoffs in each of his four seasons. Beste starred even as a freshman, playing in all 26 games during the 2001-02 campaign and placing in the team’s top-five in most statistical categories. He moved into the starting lineup full time in 2002-03 and averaged 14.8 points per game to earn his initial All-MIAC nod. He was second on the Knights with 12.3 points per contest in 2003-04 and collected All-Conference Honorable Mention.
As a senior, Beste led Carleton to a 17-10 record, which tied for the most wins in a men’s basketball season since 1952-53. During the 2004-05 campaign, he led the Knights in scoring with 528 points, the seventh-highest recorded single-season total at the time. Beste ranked among the conference’s top 20 in many key categories as he averaged 19.6 points (fourth), 1.67 steals (sixth), 5.3 rebounds (14th), 2.3 assists (16th), and 0.52 blocks (19th). That all-around performance led to Team MVP honors plus a spot on both the All-MIAC First Team and the five-player All-Defensive Team. His distribution helped that year’s squad to a Carleton-record 455 assists.